RIGA, April 4 - RAPSI. The Latvian Parliament has voted in favor of the ruling Unity party proposal that bans the use of Soviet symbols at public events. The bill will now be forwarded to various parliamentary commissions for consideration, the parliament's press service told RIA Novosti.

Symbols from the USSR, the Latvian SSR and Nazi Germany are currently not allowed at marches, protests and other political gatherings. The ban, however, does not cover celebrations, sports events or other entertainment.

Unity has also proposed prohibiting protests against Latvia's independence, calls for staging military coups, promotion of war, violence, Nazism, racism or Communism at public events.

The bill will be enforced if approved by the parliament in two readings and then signed by the president